U.S. President Donald Trump will attend dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday, according to a senior Trump administration official.
The dinner will follow the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, where the president has scheduled a series of bilateral meetings, working sessions and discussions with allied leaders. Macron had earlier invited Trump to the one-on-one dinner to cap off the summit, but the White House, until now, hadn’t confirmed whether he would attend. The Élysée on Saturday also confirmed the dinner.
The invitation from Macron appeared to be an effort to appeal to the president’s taste for opulence and gilded interiors — as well as a bid to keep Trump in attendance for the summit’s entirety. European leaders hope to broach a number of subjects, including the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Iran. The president left last year’s summit early due to tensions with Iran.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in France on Monday. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Macron, followed by the official greeting and a working dinner. A senior administration official, granted anonymity to discuss the plans, said the president will address a number of issues of “shared importance” with allies, including “economic growth and development, supply chain resilience, illegal immigration, and artificial intelligence.”
Tuesday’s schedule includes a working session with G7 leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A second senior administration official said there is currently no plan for a bilateral with Zelenskyy — though the official added that the two could meet on the sidelines. The president on Tuesday will also have bilaterals with the Emir of Qatar, followed by the president of the United Arab Emirates. There will also be a working lunch with G7 leaders and leaders from the Middle East.
On Wednesday, in addition to working sessions with G7 allies, Trump will have a bilateral with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, as well as another with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders will also meet with G7 outreach partners and tech CEOs to discuss artificial intelligence.
Giorgio Leali contributed to this report.